Dilating-syringe.



A. L. MINER.

DILATING SYRINGE. APPLICATION FAILED JUNE 2, 1912.

Patented Oct. 21, 1913.

2 SHBETS-SHEEI 1.

F EEEEE COLUMBIA WASHINGTON D c A. L. MINER.

DILATING SYRINGE.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 3, 1912.

Patented Oct. 21, 1913.

2 SHEETBSHEEI 2.

' FEA- FE.E

ITHEEEES:

I WLM. /fmd; ef 5 JA M,

(10.. WASHINGTON D c COLUMBIA heron ALBERT LAWRENCE mines, or isnllzows VERMONT,

. Murine-summon.

specification er Letters Patent.

'Application filed June 3, 1912. Serial No. 702,452.

To (ZZZ whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, ALBERT; LAwRnNon MINER, a citizen of the United States of; America, residing at Bellows Falls, in the,

fication.

The invention relates primarily to va'gi- I nal dilators for medicalpurposes, and 1n connection therewith a douche tubewith improved injection and discharge passages therefor. I I Heretofore in dilating instruments of this character, the dilating devices have consisted of a series of ribs extending substantially parallel along the liquid conducting tube;'and have been moved outward bodily therefrom, and the outlets at the end of the tube have been made substantially radial in a fixed head. I My improvements consist in a series of flexible fingers projecting from one end of a sleeve having aninterior diameter relatively larger than the exterior diameter of the liquid conducting tube which passes through it, so asto leave a suiiicient opening between the two surfaces for an ample liquid discharge passage, and a link pivoted at'one end to each flexible finger about mid= way of its length and at its other end tothe liquid tube; thus bydrawing the tube backward through said sleeve the links will tend to assume a radial position approaching more or less nearly to a plane at right angles to the axis of the tubedepending upon the extent of movementthereof and thereby by a toggle action will spread the ends of the flexible fingers into a position to serve as a dilator, and spring-catches are provided which are attached to the portion of the tube within the said sleeve, sothat when the tube is drawn out of the sleeve in the operation of deflecting the fingers these catches will automatically engage the end of the sleeve when the fingers are in the desired expanded position, and therehold them until the spring-catchesare released.

The improved douche consists of an elongated head at the end of the conducting tube, provided with a series of small apertures through the end and side Walls there= of at different angles to the axis of the tube,

and preferably a slotted cylindrical bearihg at vthe end of the tube to support a sleeve which may rotate freely thereon, be tweenttwo projecting collars at the ends of said bearing, and through the walls of this rotatable sleeve obliquely arranged outlet passages .are formed, which cause said sleeve to rotate when the liquid is forced out through them. All of which is more particluarly set forth in the description following; in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification. r

In the drawingsFigure 1 is an elevation of the instrument with the flexible fingers closed against the douche-head; Figi 2 is an elevation with the fingers spread and the encompassing sleeve in section with two of its attached fingers removed, Fig; 3 is a central longitudinal sectional View of the instrument, including the conducting tube and its douche-head; Fig. 4: isa plan of the instrument with the fingers spread, looking down upon the outlet end; Fig. 5 is a plan of the base of the sleeve with the ends of the springcatchesfin sec; tion on a line coincident with the plane of the outer endof such base; and Fig.6 is an enlar ed cross-section of the douche-head on line 6 6, Fig; 2. x

Referring' to the drawings by designating letters,- T is the liquid conducting tube, S the efieemipassing sleeve, frcm which tend the flexible dilating finge s F, and as illustrated these are inte ral with the. sleeve although they may be riveted thereto. The fingers F are connected to the tube T by means of short links L, the respective ends of which are pivoted at Z and Z, toth'e fingers and to ears on the lower end ofthe base B which iss'crewed to the upper end I?" of the tube T; for pcnvenience of construction the ears to which the links are pivoted to the tube are made upon a ring 0, which is secured upo'n the tube below the douche-head; there is also secured upon the tube T a ring R from which project rearwardly a pair of spring-arms with notches K, formed upon their outer surfaces, which will engage the lower edge of the interior of the sleeve and act spring-catches to hold the sleeve in position with its fingers spread, or in their cldsed position with the Patented enter, 1913.

ends of the fingers seated in the flutes or depressions f formed in the sides of the douche-head.

A practical and convenient construction of the induction head of the douche, l have found to be as follows: A base piece B is screwed or otherwise fastened to the end of the tube T as shown in Fig. 8, the piece B is made integral with the ring 0, and into this base piece B is screwed a slotted cylinder D which serves as a bearing for the rotatable sleeve E, and this sleeve is provided with a series of oblique passages 6, so that when the liquid is forced out through them it will cause the sleeve to revolve. It will be found desirable to make the slots in the cylinder D large, in fact to cut away the larger part thereof leaving only ribs as indicated by the letter D in Fig. 6, which insures a free passage of liquid through the openings 0. To the outer end of the slotted cylindrical bearing D a head A is secured and has a projecting annular shoulder against which the outer end of the rotary sleeve E bears, the inner end of this sleeve, bearing upon an annular projection of the base piece B. This base piece has oblique passages 6 extending through it in a rearward direction, that is, toward the sleeve S, which assists in the discharge flow. The head piece A is also pro vided with a series of perforations a extending through it at different angles; by this means the liquid is ejected in all directions and from the passages e in the sleeve E it is thrown out with a whirling action. I prefer toattach the head A to the sleeve bearing D by a screw-thread, so that when desired the head may be screwed down tightly upon the end of the sleeve E and prevent rotation thereof. Sufiicient space is provided between the tube T and the interior of the sleeve S, and at O, at its rear end (Fig. 5), to permit the free discharge of liquid after it has served its cleansing effect upon the parts treated; but at the same time there is sufficient contact between portions of the exterior of the tube and the interior of the sleeve, to keep the former centered in the latter as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, the ring R forming a oart of the tube T. The rear or outer ent of the sleeve S is enlarged and made to flare outward, thus serving to prevent the flow of liquid along the outside of the sleeve from the organ in which it is used.

The improved construction. of the dilator will be found eflicient and very perfect in operation, spreading all interior folds and wrinkles, and exposing the entire interior surface of the organ to the action of the liquid from the douche, thus thoroughly cleansing any diseased or infected parts, and then exposing the surfaces to subsequent medication. The operating parts are so arranged in relation to the dilating fingers that the chance of injury from pinching any membrane between them is reduced to a minimum.

I claim 1. In. a vaginal instrument, an inner liquid-induction tube, and an encompassing outer sleeve of substantially larger interior diameter than that of the exterior of the tube, flexible fingers fixedly attached to one end of said sleeve and projecting toward the discharge end of the tube, means to deflect and retract the free ends of such fingers when the tube is reciprocated longitudinally within the sleeve, and means to automatically efi ect engagement between said tube and sleeve and hold said fingers in desired deflected positions. 5

2. In an instrument of the class described, a liquid induction tube and an encompassing sleeve of interior diameter greater than that of the exterior of the tube, flexible fingers projecting from one end of the sleeve,

means to deflect the fingers when the tube is drawn backward through the sleeve and spring-catches which automatically effect on gagement between the sleeve and tube and hold said fingers in desired deflected positions.

3. In an instrument of the class described, a liquid induction tube, an encompassing sleeve of interior diameter substantially greater throughout its length than that of the exterior of the tube, and provided with a. flaring exterior at its rear end, flexible integral fingers projecting from the other end of the sleeve, and means to deflect the outer ends of said fingers.

l. In an instrument of the class described, a sleeve having flexible fingers rigidly fixed to and projecting from one end thereof and adapted to be spread when desired, a liquid conducting tube extending through said sleeve and having at its discharge end, a head portion provided with a series of liquid passages extending at angles in different directions away from the induction end of the tube, a base portion With liquid passages extending at angles in different directions toward said induction end, and a rotatable portion supported between said head and base and provided with liquid passages extending tangentially of said rotatable portion.

5. In an instrument of the class described, a liquid conducting tube, a sleeve encompassing the tube and provided with integral flexible fingers extending from one end thereof, means to spread the free ends of said fingers when the tube is drawn backward within the sleeve, and to retract them to cover the end of the tube when it is pushed forward, and depressions in the end of the tube to receive the ends of the fingers and thus cause them to mask the ejection end thereof and form the exterior surface of the c device.

6. In an instrument of the class described, a liquid induction tube, an encompassing sleeve of interior diameter substantially greater throughout its length than that of the exterior of the tube, contacting portions between the tube and interior of the sleeve to hold the former centrally in the sleeve,

and Without material obstruction of the outlet passage, and integral flexible fingers projecting from the sleeve toward the discharge end of the tube With means to deflect such fingers When desired.

A. LAWRENCE MINER.

' Witnesses:

H. K. J oHNsoN, ALMoN I. BOLLES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. 0. 

